26.02.2022, Moscow.
The offensive of the Russian army in Ukraine resumed after the Kiev authorities actually refused to negotiate with the Kremlin, Press Secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov said on February 26.
“Yesterday afternoon, when negotiations with the Ukrainian leaders were expected, Supreme Commander and President of Russia stopped the advance of the Russian troops. <…> Since the Ukrainian side actually refused to negotiate, today the Russian forces resumed their advance according to the plan of the Russian operation,” the Russian president’s press secretary explained.
Peskov reminded that the previous day President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky suggested that negotiations with Moscow should be held, and the Kremlin agreed, and then President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko invited both sides to Minsk.
Soon after that, however, Kiev said that it would prefer to talk in Warsaw, and then it stopped any communication with Moscow.
On February 25, the Director of the Department of Information and Press of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said that the Ukrainian side suggested that a decision on the negotiations should be made on February 26.
On February 24, President of Russia Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a special operation of the Russian army in Ukraine in order to defend the civilian population in the republics of Donbass. After that, Kiev introduced martial law across the country, it announced nation-wide mobilization, and it officially broke off diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation.
The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly stressed that the Russian army targets the military infrastructure in Ukraine. No aerial, missile or artillery strikes will be made on peaceful Ukrainian cities. There is no threat to the civilian population of the country, the Russian Defense Ministry assured.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency